The Los Angeles Chargers head into their bye week with a lot of soul-searching to do – particularly around their passing game. Anyone reading this has heard for at least the last 10 years that the NFL is a passing league.
The last team to make a Super Bowl averaging under 200 yards passing was the 2007 New York Giants. The league has changed a lot in the 17 years since then. In fact, the lowest-ranking team among Super Bowl participants in the last five seasons was the 2019 49ers, who averaged 237 yards per game and were ranked 13th.
Right now, the Chargers are 31st in the NFL in passing yards per game with 136 yards. The New England Patriots are the one team with a worse passing game and they don’t have Justin Herbert under center.
The Chargers opted to bet on defense this offseason, keeping Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack over Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
To address the position they brought in DJ Chark (now on IR) and drafted Ladd McConkey in the second round. They also wagered that Quentin Johnston and Josh Palmer would rise to a new level.
The Case For Trading For A #1 Receiver
Of course, a lot has to do with the play calling. Of the four games Herbert has played with Greg Roman calling plays all four fall in his top 10 fewest passing attempts of his career. But when he decides to throw the ball Roman is not less aggressive than Herbert’s past coordinators. In fact, Herbert’s deep shot percentage is the highest of his career. But no one is on the other end of those passes who can catch them.
Herbert has completed just three of his 11 throws of 20 air yards or more. That is a 27.3 completion percentage, the lowest mark of his career. In fact he isn’t getting much help on intermediate depth passes either. His completion percentage on throws between 10 and 19 air yards is just 35.7 percent, 32nd among starting quarterbacks.
Chargers receivers are 23rd in separation, 28th in contested catch rate, and dead last in FTN’s Created Catches statistic. They also haven’t done much when they do have the ball in their hands. They are 22nd in yards after the catch.
Options For The Chargers
The Chargers need to get Herbert some help and there are plenty of wide receivers that have hit the trade rumor mill. Most notably, Davante Adams seems to want out of Las Vegas. Diontae Johnson may be rethinking his place with the one-win Panthers. Jalin Hyatt is a name that keeps popping up in regard to trade targets.
The list goes on and on of players who are proven #1 receivers who may want out of bad situations. And the Chargers can be the team that offers them a lifeline to a good base and a great quarterback. It is just a phone call away.
